Warriors leave, as Ndoro pays tribute to Adamski

04 Sep, 2016 - 00:09 0 Views

The Sunday News

THE Warriors finally left for Guinea late yesterday but not after some high drama reminded us of just how we are so good at turning the game Pele described as the world’s most beautiful game into an ugly affair.

The Afcon qualifier match kicks off at 7pm and is live on Supersport.

Sports and Recreation Minister Makhosini Hlongwane and Zifa president Phillip Chiyangwa must be the most relieved men in the world after avoiding a near calamity.

It looked like the Warriors would fail to make the trip to Conakry and attract a heavy punishment from the Confederation of African Football after shambolic travel arrangements saw Zifa only managing to secure tickets for the team to fly out of Harare to Addis Ababa.

A connecting flight from the Ethiopian capital to Guinea could not be secured hence all efforts were put into chartering an Air Zimbabwe plane. It wasn’t a walk in the park but at just after six last night Kallisto Pasuwa and his men left for the final leg of a journey that we all knew would take us 450 days.

Yes, qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations was secured on the 359th day, when we thumped Malawi 3-0 at home in June, but the trip to Guinea was always on the calendar, it had to be fulfilled.

So since the day we played Malawi, 5 June, the next item on the agenda was the trip to Conakry and how Zifa failed to make arrangements for this assignment is mysterious.

At some point, when the boys return, Chiyangwa has to explain how things came to this near disaster. But for now focus is on making sure that the Warriors ice the Afcon qualification cake by ensuring that they avoid defeat against a Guinea side that held them to a 1-all draw at Rufaro in the reverse fixture.

While wishing for better organisation Pasuwa feels the drama that preceded the team’s departure cannot be used as an excuse for a poor show in Conakry.

“These things happen but the good thing is that we are now leaving and the ball is now in our court. We have to deliver and the boys look ready to deliver. As I have said before even though we have qualified this game is still very important to us. This marks the start of our preparations for Afcon 2017 so there is no room for excuses.”

On fire Orlando Pirates striker Tendai Ndoro will be tasked with leading the Warriors attack in Guinea and the 28-year-old revealed that each time he puts on the national strip he is out to make one dead man smile.

“Adam Ndlovu (late) was my hero, he still is. He was the first person to tell me that I was headed for good times and now I feel like I have turned into the striker he wanted me to be. Adamski believed in me from the onset and being a former striker of repute himself, he was naturally interested in seeing me develop into a feared predator. Sadly he is not here to watch but his words always ring in my head especially now that I am playing for the Warriors. I hope to make him proud in Guinea.”

 

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